European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir. PARIS/BERLIN (Reuters) - France, Germany and Italy jointly welcomed on Wednesday a proposal by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker to limit China’s ability to buy up European companies in infrastructure, hi-tech manufacturing and energy. In the European Union’s equivalent of a U.S. president’s State of the Union address, Juncker presented proposals for an investment screening framework. Its aim is to give EU member states a tool to intervene in cases of foreign direct investment in strategic assets, in particular if carried out by state-controlled or state-financed enterprises. Full story